Don Ross and Julie Malia

Don Ross and Julie Malia, both well-established solo performers, have decided to form a new musical partnership. While continuing to play solo internationally, Don and Julie have been performing many of their shows as a double bill since the fall of 2023. In 2024, they gave 45 concert performances in Germany, the UK, Canada and the USA. They have continued the habit in 2025, having toured together on both sides of the Atlantic.

Don released his latest solo album, WATER, in 2023. It is his 18th solo album, and his 21st, including collaborations. For this new recording, Don decided to launch a Kickstarter fundraising campaign and do the release 100% independently. The album features collaborations with legendary guitarist/songwriter Bruce Cockburn, fretless bass wizard Michael Manring, Washington State-based guitarist/composer Sean Hall, singer/guitarist Brooke Miller, Prince Edward Island-based quintet The Atlantic String Machine, and even one piece with the 70-piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Don Ross was born and raised in Montreal and has lived in various parts of Canada over the course of his life. The son of a Mi’kmaw Indigenous mother and a Scottish immigrant father, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree from Toronto’s York University and started working full-time as a musician in 1988. That year, he won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championship for the first time.

Don has released solo CDs with a multitude of labels, including Duke Street Records, Sony Music/Columbia Records, Narada Records and CandyRat Records.

In addition, Don has released three other albums independently, Live in Your Head (2006), Any Colour (2009) and Don Ross Louder Than Usual (2019). Over the course of that time, Don’s touring base has gone on to include trips to Australia, India, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and a dozen European countries.

In 2021, Don won the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.